Early Life
Carswell is the son of two medical doctors, and grew up in Africa, where his parents worked amongst resource-starved communities. His home was in Uganda until his late teens. His father, Wilson Carswell, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, diagnosed the first confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS, in Uganda in the early 1980s, and was instrumental in drawing the world's attention to the unfolding pandemic.
Carswell was educated at St Andrews School, Kenya, Charterhouse School, the University of East Anglia, where he graduated with a degree in history in 1993, and King's College London, where he graduated with a degree in British Imperial History. He worked as Corporate Development Manager for Television Broadcasting in Italy from 1997–9, and for INVESCO, reporting to the Continental Europe regional CEO, from 1999 before entering politics.
At the 2001 General Election, he was the Conservative candidate at Sedgefield: the constituency of the Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair's majority fell by 7,500 votes, and Carswell managed to increase the Conservative share of the vote by 3.1% of the electorate. In the months before the 2005 General Election, he worked in the Conservative Party's Policy Unit, reporting to David Cameron.
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“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
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